The present invention relates to a packet of cigarettes.
Hinged-lid packets of cigarettes normally comprise a container; and a lid hinged to the container and movable between an open and a closed position. Known packets of this type are normally parallelepiped when the lid is closed, are produced on automatic machines from blanks of cardboard or similar material of relatively stable shape, and each comprise an inner cavity housing a group of cigarettes enclosed in wrapping material normally comprising a sheet of foil. The size of the packet and respective cavity is determined according to the size of the group of cigarettes to grip the cigarettes in the group firmly between the walls of the packet and prevent the group from moving with respect to the packet or the cigarettes from moving with respect to the adjacent cigarettes during transport or the numerous transfer operations to which the packets are subjected between the production plant and the user. Unless maintained in a given position, even the slightest movement of the cigarettes inside the packet may result in tobacco fallout and/or bending and/or tearing of the cigarettes.
On the other hand, packets of cigarettes of the above type must also enable easy withdrawal of the cigarettes, particularly when the packet is full, which means allowing a certain amount of clearance between the group and the cavity defined by the walls of the packet, which in turn runs counter to the above necessity of maintaining the group firmly in a given position.
Known packets in fact represent a compromise between these two conflicting requirements, so that neither--firm gripping of the cigarettes and easy withdrawal--is met altogether satisfactorily.
Patent DE-C-583756 relates to a blank having dimpled walls with the convex side of the dimples facing the inner cavity of the packet, and which provide for elastically compressing and so effectively gripping the cigarettes.
The packet described in the above patent has several drawbacks. Firstly, the dimples, formed by permanent deformation of the flat walls of the blank, are not sufficiently elastic to permit easy withdrawal of the cigarettes; and, secondly, dimpled blanks are difficult to process on modern automatic packing machines.